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| Seeing with Jesus’ Eyes — A Seasonal Reader by Fr. Donald Lange |
PLATTEVILLE — “I think it was in the late 1970s that I submitted a few articles to the Catholic Herald,” said Fr. Donald Lange, speaking about how his column — “Seeing with Jesus’ Eyes” — got started. His new book Seeing with Jesus’ Eyes — A Seasonal Reader was just published in December of 2020. “At first, I wondered in the Catholic Herald would accept my articles, but gradually, they did.”
What began as an occasional guest column eventually became something more regularly published in the paper.
“After I retired, Pam Payne asked me if I would offer a name for the column,” he said, speaking of the Herald’s now retired associate editor. “That was about 14 years ago.”
Now years later, at the tail end of his golden jubilee in 2020, Father Lange’s column has come to book format, published by Forty Press.
Divided into sections based on the liturgical calendar, holidays, and different themes, the book can be picked up and read any time of year.
“The book can be used to follow major feast of the church year and some secular feasts such as Mother’s Day and Father’s Day,” said Father Lange. “The book also has articles not connected to either one such as sports, resentment, and Venerable Fr. Samuel Mazzuchelli. The index enables one to look up specific items.”
Developing the book
The book came about through the hard work of Father Lange, Tim McKearn, Jean McKearn, and Mary Jo Loffelholz.
Tim McKearn, who has known Father Lange since his days serving as an altar boy when Father Lange was a new priest, said that he had stayed in touch with Father over the years and would exchange letters and phone calls.
“I think it was in December of 2011 . . . I had remembered that he was always writing — poems, stories, homilies, and he worked really hard on these things,” said McKearn.
“So during a very nice dinner, I asked him if he was still writing and what he had done with all the ‘stuff’ he had written over the years. He told me he saved it all and that he had at least 16 ringed binders filled with his work.”
Father Lange said he remembers shyly mentioning that he wondered if it might be possible to publish his articles in a book.
“I hoped to plant some seeds in him,” said Father Lange.
However, years passed, and the idea was kicked around a few times with Father Lange deciding he was too busy to focus on publishing a book.
McKearn said it wasn’t until early 2019 that the decision to move ahead with preparing and publishing the book was started.
“My role in this was really small,” said McKearn. “We met several times and began to talk about the book. I would drive to Platteville, and we would talk about each column. I tasked Father Lange with identifying his favorite columns by topic. This was done largely by hard copy and shipping pages back and forth.”
His sister, Jean McKearn, had the task of collecting and arranging the articles into the seasonal format.
Hopes for the book
Father Lange said he was “pleasantly surprised” when he received his copy from the publisher.
“I was elated,” he said. “It took a long time, but was worth it.”
But in terms of hopes for the book’s success, Father Lange says he’s not sure what he hopes for. The interest in the book has surprised him though.
With the free promotional copies he distributes, he includes a donation form to the Father Mazzuchelli cause for beatification.
“We are not out to make big money, but to publicize and maybe help the Mazzuchelli cause,” he said. “Maybe the book will help the new evangelization in a small way.”